Fraternities and Sororities

News about Fraternities and Sororities, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 20, 2015

Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Wesleyan University in Connecticut sues college, alleging school's directive that fraternities take steps to admit women in name of equality is, in fact, discriminatory; lawsuit argues that policy unfairly targets fraternities and that other forms of specialized housing are allowed. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Duke University suspends Alpha Delta Phi fraternity while police look into charges that a woman was sexually assaulted at an off-campus house leased by fraternity members. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Juliet Lapidos Editorial Notebook suggests that university administrations should encourage sororities to throw parties instead of fraternities as way to reduce campus sexual violence; notes that if existing alcohol ban at sororities imposed by many universities is lifted, these groups could offer a responsible and safe alternative for women partygoers. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Some female college students are questioning decades-old bans on alcohol at sorority houses, as higher education grapples with wave of sexual assault allegations; argue that bans makes women socially dependent on fraternity house parties, where some evidence suggests assaults are far more likely to occur; many argue that allowing sororities to throw parties would give women more control over alcohol use and safety. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

University of Virginia, taking guidance from local police, reinstates Phi Kappa Psi, fraternity embroiled in Rolling Stone magazine article reporting accusations of gang rape that later withered under scrutiny. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Editorial welcomes University of Virginia agreement between student and university leaders to ban binge drinking and excessive fraternity partying practices that can lead to sexual assaults; holds new code of behavior for both sides should be emulated at other colleges and universities. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

University of Virginia officials criticize media coverage of discredited gang rape story that damaged college's reputation; say they are doing everything in their power to make the campus safer. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Students and administrators at University of Virginia continue to struggle with fallout from Rolling Stone magazine article that purported to describe gang rape at fraternity house on campus; article has since come under fire for reporting flaws and most people on campus are now withholding comment until more facts emerge. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

University of Virginia issues statement sticking to its suspension of fraternity activities as furor continues over disputed Rolling Stone article about campus rape. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

Students at University of Virginia, which is struggling with missing sophomore student, two suicides and article about alleged gang rape at fraternity that put school in center of national debate, express desire for new semester and return to normality. MORE

Dec. 6, 2014

Rolling Stone magazine admits there are discrepancies in article on premeditated gang rape during fraternity party at University of Virginia; Phi Kappa Psi, fraternity in question, disputes several elements of story, including party held during night of alleged rape; advocates for women's safety say questions about article should not undermine university’s heightened attention to sexual assault issues that have festered for years. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Chaz Haggins and Ethan Turner of Reisterstown, Md, are charged with raping 16-year-old girl at Johns Hopkins University fraternity party; men are not university students but fraternity has been suspended. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Frank Bruni Op-Ed column questions role of fraternities and sororities in college campus life, in light of fresh scrutiny over way fraternities abet sexual assault; criticizes fraternities for promoting homogeneity over diversity, one of the most important missions of higher education. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

University of Virginia's governing board will meet to discuss accusations that the university has mishandled and concealed sexual assaults for years; move is triggered by Rolling Stone article describing school's botched response to reported fraternity house gang rape in 2012. MORE

Nov. 2, 2014

Sep. 23, 2014

Wesleyan University in Connecticut announces that its residential fraternities must all admit women as members and residents; fraternities will have three years to comply with the new rules; statement comes as colleges across country wrestle with the connections between heavy drinking, dangerous behavior and sexual assault at fraternities and sororities. MORE

Jul. 5, 2014

Pennsylvania law authorities say they expect to bring charges, including homicide, against most of about 30 Baruch College students present at a fraternity retreat when freshman Chun Hsien Deng died after a pledging ritual. MORE

Jun. 13, 2014

Colleges are under intense pressure to curb sexual assault, binge drinking and hazing after facing barrage of bad publicity and lawsuits, growing number of federal investigations and recent White House task force report; colleges have increasingly focused their efforts on fraternities. MORE

Mar. 11, 2014

Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of nation's largest college fraternities, announces it will no longer permit 'pledging' as part of its initiation process for undergraduates after string of hazing-related injuries and deaths at its houses. MORE

Feb. 22, 2014

University of Mississippi says students could face criminal charges for placing a noose on statue honoring James Meredith, college’s first black student; fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon says men were a part of group's chapter at the university, and that it had expelled the men and suspended the chapter. MORE

Feb. 15, 2014

Death of Baruch College freshman Chun Deng in Psi Delta Psi fraternity ritual in Pennsylvania is ruled homicide. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

Alpha Lambda Mu, first Islamic fraternity in United States, offers students opportunity to express both American and Muslim sides of their identity. MORE

Feb. 8, 2014

Police say 11 University of Georgia fraternity members face hazing charges after students were beaten with fists as part of an initiation ritual. MORE

Jan. 24, 2014

Arizona State University says it is severing ties with Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity after the chapter hosted a distasteful party in commemoration of Martin Luther King’s Birthday, complete with racist stereotypes and offensive costumes. MORE

Jan. 23, 2014

Arizona State University is investigating accusations that members of fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon gave a party to commemorate Martin Luther King's Birthday at which nonblack students mocked blacks by donning loose basketball jerseys, flashing gang signs and drinking from hollowed-out watermelons. MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

Official says criminal charges will almost certainly be filed in the hazing death of Baruch College student Chun Hsien Deng, who suffered severe trauma to the head during a fraternity retreat in Pennsylvania; leadership of Pi Delta Psi fraternity says retreat was unsanctioned event that was strictly prohibited. MORE

Dec. 12, 2013

Law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania are investigating death of 19-year-old Baruch College freshman Chun Hsien Deng, who died while on retreat with members of Pi Delta Psi fraternity in the Poconos; authorities say Deng suffered major brain trauma while taking part in game during fraternity hazing ritual. MORE

Oct. 2, 2013

Dartmouth College's fall semester gets under way in wake of string of embarrassing episodes involving drunkenness, fraternity hazing and sexual harassment; fraternities and sororities that dominate campus social scene are focus of debate over drinking at institution. MORE

Sep. 21, 2013

Six minority students accept offers of admission to traditionally white sororities at University of Alabama, after campus newspaper detailed chronic racial discrimination within campus’s Greek system; announcement marks first time since 2003 that those organizations say they had added minority students to their memberships. MORE

Sep. 19, 2013

Several hundred University of Alabama students and faculty members march across campus to demand racial integration in university's mostly white fraternities and sororities; demonstration comes a week after the campus newspaper published an account that showed that a sorority considered race when evaluating potential members. MORE

Sep. 17, 2013

University of Alabama orders its traditionally white sororities to extend their recruitment efforts and increase diversity; move comes after allegations that some alumnae had pressed sororities to reject black students. MORE

Sep. 15, 2013

Machine, a century-old secret society at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa representing a league of almost exclusively white fraternities and sororities, maintains a solid hold on student government through a brand of old-fashioned organization politics; Machine's apparent involvement in Tuscaloosa City School Board election in August, a rare appearance in municipal politics, has raised controversy and prompted a lawsuit. MORE

Sep. 13, 2013

Allegations by a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and students in other sororities at University of Alabama say alumnae of traditionally white sororities pressure them to reject black students. MORE

Mar. 13, 2013

Jerry Reid, who enrolled in the University of Virginia at 65 and joined a fraternity, tells of his experiences as an older student on campus. MORE

Jan. 12, 2013

Cornell University withdraws its recognition of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity after an October 2012 hazing incident; episode comes two years after a Cornell student died following a fraternity drinking ritual. MORE

Dec. 20, 2012

Authorities are holding fraternity members at Northern Illinois University accountable for the death of David Bogenberger, freshman who died in his sleep after drinking heavily during an initiation ritual; charge 22 students with felony and misdemeanor hazing counts, reflecting nationwide efforts to enforce anti-hazing laws more aggressively. MORE

Dec. 19, 2012

Nearly two dozen fraternity members at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb are charged with hazing-related counts after freshman was found dead at their fraternity house following night of drinking. MORE

Sep. 22, 2012

Letter from H Carl McCall, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, State University of New York, responds to Sept 19 article on the ongoing impact of the hazing scandal at SUNY Binghamton University. MORE

Sep. 19, 2012

Start of school year at Binghampton University is overshadowed by the ongoing impact of a 2011-2012 hazing scandal that forced the university to suspend pledging and induction at all fraternities and sororities; university has a new dean of students and a renewed focus on curbing hazing, but a review of complaints submitted in the previous academic year indicates just how overmatched the administration has been. MORE

Jul. 22, 2012

Mini-industry of blogs, Web sites, books and consultants now helps young women prepare for sorority recruitment. MORE

Jun. 28, 2012

Three former Cornell University undergraduates are found not guilty of hazing sophomore George Desdunes, who died during a fraternity ritual in 2011; Max Haskin, Ben Mann and Edward Williams were accused of making Desdunes drink excessive amounts of alcohol during an induction ceremony for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. MORE

Apr. 20, 2012

Binghamton University, part of New York State's public university system, is halting all fraternity and sorority pledging for the spring after what it calls an 'alarmingly high number' of complaints about hazing; move is emblematic of an increasingly tough stance on hazing and other forms of student misbehavior on campuses nationwide. MORE

Dec. 15, 2011

University of Vermont fraternity is suspended while officials investigate allegations that a survey was circulated among members asking them who they would like to rape. MORE

Oct. 31, 2011

Man who targets middle-aged members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority has sexually assaulted four women in Dallas area since November 2010. MORE

Oct. 26, 2011

National black sorority Delta Sigma Theta issues a warning that a rapist in the Dallas area appears to be targeting its members. MORE

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Delta Kappa Epsilon and its alumni organization filed the suit seeking a temporary injunction, saying the policy put in place by the Connecticut university in the name of equality was, in fact, discriminatory.